By FireRescue1 Staff
EMMITSBURG, Md. — The U.S. Fire Administration published a study revealing that structural fires caused the majority of fire-related firefighter injuries between 2015 and 2017.
According to Safety and Health Magazine, the USFA published its findings in July under a report titled, “Topical Fire Report Series.” The study showed that out of 26,000 injuries reported from 2015 to 2017, 87% of fire-related firefighter injuries were from structural fires.
In addition, data pulled from the National Fire Incident Reporting System for the study revealed that firefighters were 11 times more likely to sustain injuries from structural fires during the timeframe.
The study encompassed 63,000 on-the-job injuries, with 29% of the injuries for overexertion or strain and 24.8% of injuries were strains or sprains.
The data also showed that most injuries during that time period happened in July, while injuries were less frequent in October and November.
USFA officials applauded the fire service commitment towards firefighter safety in the study.
“Firefighter health and safety initiatives, incident command structure, training, and protective gear are but a few areas where time, energy and resources have been well spent,” the report read.